This week’s meeting at Auja EcoCenter provided an opportunity for EcoPeace Middle East’s community coordinators to enhance the skills that have enabled them to successfully implement their grassroots campaigns.
Once everyone had arrived, EcoPeace Middle East’s co-directors outlined some recent achievements, including advocacy efforts that doubled Gaza’s water supply and renewed the Joint Water Committee.
EcoPeace’s Jordanian Director, Munqeth Mehyar addressed the considerable opposition that community coordinators face when striving to convince the public of the need to collaborate with one another. “What do we do in this situation?” asked Mr. Mehyar, “We face them by emphasizing that regional cooperation to protect the environment is in the best interest of everyone!” he added.
EcoPeace’s Israeli Director, Gidon Bromberg then illustrated the organisation’s core values with the same enthusiasm that has secured countless achievements over 23 years.
Next, participants engaged in Mohammad Biadsi’s, community coordinator for the Hadera/Abu Nar basin, outdoor training (ODT) activities, which highlighted the importance of planning, communication and patience to ensure that collective efforts continued to produce results.
The day concluded with planning sessions that provided community coordinators with the tools to ensure their regional cross border activities were successful.
The day’s events stressed the indispensability of working together to promote cooperative efforts that bolster the region’s environmental sustainability and advance the common desire for peace.
Written by: Steven Brine
